Supralaryngeal control in Korean velar stops

International audienceThe aim of this study was to investigate the supralaryngeal control of the production of the Korean three-way contrast in velar stops. First, an EMA-experiment with three Korean speakers was carried out, and the kinematic properties of the tongue back were analyzed (length of the deceleration phase of the movement, peak velocity, peak acceleration, amplitude and duration of the looping movement during consonantal closure, and angle of incidence between tongue and palate at contact onset). To understand the potential motor control mechanisms underlying the production of the three-way contrast, the target hypothesis which suggests that articulator movements in stops are directed towards a target at or beyond the palate, was evaluated by comparing its predictions with our experimental findings. Evidence was found in support of this hypothesis. Hence, the hypothesis was further explored in a modeling study. The results suggest that variability in the articulatory parameters can be explained by a single control parameter, namely the target position of the tongue. In a third step the Korean velar stops were simulated by varying the target position. The results show that the main trends of the simulated consonants are in good agreement with the experimental findings

Supralaryngeal mechanisms of the voicing contrast in velars

This study investigates supralaryngeal mechanisms of the two way voicing contrast among German velar stops and the three way contrast among Korean velar stops, both in intervocalic position. Articulatory data won via electromagnetic articulography of three Korean speakers and acoustic recordings of three Korean and three German speakers are analysed. It was found that in both languages the voicing contrast is created by more than one mechanism. However, one can say that for Korean velar stops in intervocalic position stop closure duration is the most important parameter. For German it is closure voicing. The results support the phonological description proposed by Kohler (1984)

Cross-language study of voicing contrasts of stop consonants in Asian languages

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D96488 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Development of Voice Onset Time in Arabic

The research investigated development of voice onset time (VOT) contrasts in children who spoke Jordanian Arabic. The factors investigated were: (1) the age at which VOT contrast is acquired; and (2) the role of place of articulation and emphasis on VOT development. One hundred and twenty children (60 males, 60 females; age range 2;0–7;11) produced word-initial plosives. Linear Mixed Model (LMM), Bonferroni post hoc and t test analyses were conducted on the data. Results revealed that age, place of articulation, and emphasis had significant effects on VOT. In addition, Arabic appeared to follow the general trend of VOT development reported for other voicing languages

Gestural Properties of the Non-Target Velar Stop /k/ and Its Variance with Respect to Supralaryngeal Constrictions in C2

In this study, we examine overlap-induced gestural properties in C1. Specifically, we examine the spatio-temporal properties of the non-target velar stop /k/ in Korean, as a function of three segmental contexts in C2 (pre-/h/, pre-/p/, and pre-/t/), two-boundary conditions, and two speech-rate conditions. The results show that gestural overlap with different supralaryngeal constrictions in C2 is positively correlated with the constriction duration of /k/, and is negatively correlated with the constriction maxima. Different constrictions in C2 distinctly affect the spatio-temporal properties of C1. The pre-/t/ context leads to distinct patterns in the C1 velar stop, compared to the pre-/h/ and pre-/p/ contexts. The pre-/t/ velar stops observed in most combinatoric phonological contexts have shorter constriction durations, and have greater constriction maxima for /k(#)t/. Greater constriction maxima is also observed for the within-word condition as well as for fast speech rate. The contradictory spatio-temporal properties of /k/ seem to be determined by physiological constraints on a consecutive lingual-lingual sequence, and by a higher jaw position facilitated by a coronal.The work was fully supported by NIH Grant DC-00403 conferred upon Catherine T. Best (PI) and Haskins Laboratories

Acoustic Analysis of English and Japanese Stop Voicing Contrasts Produced by Korean L2 Learners

The present study examines phonetic characteristics of Korean L2 learners, when they study English and Japanese stop voicing contrasts. VOT was measured for their Korean, English and Japanese utterances, and it was found that VOT can distinguish a three-way contrast of Korean stops, and that Korean L2 learners use their tense, unaspirated stops for voiced stops in English and Japanese, but it was not clearly shown how they use other types of categories for voiceless stops in English and Japanese, though they seem to use a strongly aspirated stop for English voiceless stops. Phonological features /VOICE, ASPIRATED, TENSE/ were proposed to specify the laryngeal characteristics of Korean, English and Japanese.Index terms: Korean L2 learners, VOT, stop voicing, English, Japanes

Voice onset time (VOT) characteristics of esophageal, tracheoesophageal and laryngeal speech of Cantonese

Also available in print.Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Voice onset time (VOT) characteristics of esophageal, tracheoesophageal and laryngeal speech of Cantonese

Also available in print.Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, June 30, 2007.published_or_final_versionSpeech and Hearing SciencesBachelorBachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science

Routes to Lenition: An Acoustic Study

BACKGROUND: Vowel lenition and its link with coarticulation have been the subject of extensive debate in the literature. The aims of the present paper are to demonstrate how vowel lenition and coarticulation are linked in Cypriot Greek (henceforth CG), to determine the nature of vowel lenition, and to illustrate how vowel lenition and coarticulation result from aerodynamic phenomena. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eight speakers were recorded producing utterances ending in either /i/ or /u/. Acoustic measures such as V(1)F2 and stop duration were employed to determine whether lenition of the vowels results in coarticulation with the preceding consonant. Results show that there is extensive stop-vowel coarticulation in CG and that stop production is as variable as vowel production, with full vowels never co-occurring with canonical consonants, indicating the existence of two routes to lenition in CG. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that lenition in the final syllable is a consequence of the supralaryngeal articulation coupled with a marginal glottal setting